Day: 2
Trajectory:  Esquel – Trevelin – Los Alerces National Park – Cholila – Leleque – Esquel.
Distance covered:   317 km

We were up earlyish for coffee and toast and jam. Today was to be a quieter day, spent on a side trip around Esquel. More of a circular trip really, as we drove in a large loop ending where we started up.

Our first port of call was the nearby town of Trevelín, the town of the mill, founded by Welsh settlers in 1889. Here we had morning coffee with Clare Vaughan, coordinator of a British Council run Welsh teaching project across the Welsh belt of Central Patagonia before moving on. Clare’s work interests me very much, and having made contact we have arranged to meet again on my return journey.

We left Trevelín to drive through the immense Los Alerces National Park with its beautiful trees and views, and skirted a number of lakes. We passed through all weathers in the three hours or so it too us to drive through the Park with bright sun, rain and heavy snow.

The park was brimming with wildlife –we saw and heard an extensive variety of birds– and had a number of trails leading to waterfalls, panoramic viewpoints, etc. The roads were mostly well surfaced, with a little work still to do in parts, but a far cry from the last time I drove this road in the early 1980s.

Not all the animals we saw were wild; the park was also full of sheep, horses and cattle, the last of which fascinated Tiso who shot half of his photographic allowance on some cows in his bid for the ‘animal of the day’.

We came out of the National Park in time for a late lunch at Cholila, founded in 1840 but which has never really taken off and we wondered what work there would be to keep the small population there. We enjoyed a good, filling and reasonably economic lunch at Lily’s Kitchen.

Bellies full once more, we set off for Butch Cassidy’s ranch some eight kilometres outside Cholila, passing on the way a small but atmospheric cemetery – a well-cared for reminder of the first settlers in the area.

Much has been written about Butch Cassidy, and since the 1969 movie and Chatwin’s book In Patagonia interest in him and his ‘gang’ has grown, making his ranch outside Cholila a shrine for western fans. Sadly, much that has been written about him is distorted or just plain wrong, but in this case he really did live at this ranch with the Sundance Kid and the enigmatic Etta Place.

The cabin and two outhouses have recently been restored, and the cabin is accessible, containing three rooms and a surprising number of doors. No inside fireplace (and it was bitterly cold on the day of our visit). We were able to enter, and Tiso took my picture sitting inside: a great memento!

We know a little about Butch Cassidy’s life while he was at Cholila, but much is unclear. What happened to him when he left will probably never be known. He may be buried at Río Pico, but that grave almost certainly remembers another American outlaw. He may have been shot in Bolivia, but there are no records and he was never identified there. And he may have made his way back to New York, as members of his family maintain. We shall probably never know, but we do know he was at Cholila.

We left the homestead happy with having made the trip to visit it, and happy too that we had the place all to ourselves to drink up some of the atmosphere. In the height of the tourist season –and there are signs that the site is being developed for that purpose– it would have lost much of its atmosphere.

We set off for Leleque and the RN4O back to Esquel; the same last bit of the route as yesterday and the same destination. Tomorrow we set off south, to Perito Moreno. But more anon.

Day: 1
Trajectory:  San Martín de los Andes – Embalse Alicurá – El Maitén – Esquel.
Distance covered:   520 km

This is the first day of a road trip from San Martín de los Andes to the bottom of the South American land mass. The intention is to follow the RN40 as far as possible and then find a way further south, visiting Ushuaia, Punta Arenas and as far south as I can get on the continent.

For the first part of my trip (as far as Ushuaia) I am travelling with my son Christopher, generally and henceforward known as Tiso. He will fly back from Ushuaia and I will continue for another two or three weeks, working my way up the Atlantic coast in search of wild life; birds, marine life and land mammals.

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We left San Martin on schedule at 06.00 and drove uneventfully through Junín de los Andes, past La Rinconada and along the Collón Curá valley. The first moment of excitement was an encounter with a family of wild boar who were crossing the highway as they returned from drinking in a water pool. It was the first time of either of us had seen a family of wild boar and this little group –two adults and two or three very small piglets– was a joy to behold, and kept us in good spirits for a good while. Sadly the cameras were in the back of the jeep, so we have no record of the encounter but I include a stock photo to illustrate the event.

I travel frequently along this road and for me the journey really started when we hit the turning for Alicurá, the beginning of a long stretch of the old RN40 long replaced by a fast, blacktop highway. This was a new road for me, and in a sense the real start of our adventure.

As we climbed higher and higher and the road got worse and worse we found ourselves surrounded by ice and snow, the result of a very heavy snow fall the previous night.

It was cold up here – it was still quite early in the morning and the sun, if dazzling, was still weak. But the views were spectacular, even if the road was a little variable in its surface.

We finally arrived at the first settlement on our trip, the small town of Pilcaniyeu, where we filled up with fuel.

Pilcanieyu is a small place with memories of what were obviously more important days, reflected in its architecture.

We left Pilcanieyu for a smaller community, Las Bayas, and then drove on to the larger town of Norquinco, passing a lovely old chapel along the way.

We had lunch in Norquinco, huge milanesa sandwiches that were ridiculously cheap.

Then back on the road to El Maitén, crisscrossing paths with the old railway line that once united Ingeniero Jacobacci with Esquel.

The only part of this famous railway line made famous by Paul Theroux that is still running is the stretch to Esquel from Maiten, a popular tourist attraction which we saw when we reached the latter town.

We reached Esquel some ten hours after leaving, found our hostal easily enough and enjoyed a welcome siesta. After the remote townships we had passed through Esquel was  a shining metropolis, full of bright lights and attractive businesses. We went out for an equally welcome parrilla and went to bed to prepare for day 2. . Silver the Jeep behaved impeccably, Tiso did all the driving (my turn tomorrow), and Day 1 is done, successfully and enjoyably. Watch this space.

It’s a long time since I set off on a proper trip, one wholly unrelated to work and with no aim other than the travelling itself. And it’s a great feeling to be travelling with my son, away from his work and family commitments for a couple of weeks. It’s going to be good, and I’m really looking forward to it.

I’m travelling down Argentina’s legendary Ruta Nacional 40 and coming back up the Atlantic coast.  With side trips (and getting lost once in a while) my whole trip will be about 6000 km in total. That is longer than the entire RN40 (5.140 km) – once I get to the southernmost point of South America I have of course to turn round and come back. To provide a little perspective, the distance between Madrid and Moscow is only 3417 km; New York to Los Angeles 4139 km and Buenos Aires to Bogotá 4649 km. I’ve been saving up for the fuel!